1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for building a network configuration database. More particularly, the present invention relates to a network configuration database builder which is connected to a plurality of transmission units constituting a network, and also to a method executed by this database builder to create a network configuration database.
2. Description of the Related Art
Configuration management, which is one of the major aspects of network management, can be defined as a process of collecting data from a network of interest and using that data to manage the configuration of all network devices being involved. The collected data is stored into an appropriate database, allowing efficient access from network engineers. Conventionally, such a network configuration database is constructed through a labor-intensive process which includes the following tasks: (1) manually designing database records, based on the connections among transmission units that constitute the network, (2) verifying the records concerning their contents and coverage, (3) correcting errors, and (4) registering the validated records into the network configuration database.
In reality, however, the network configuration changes almost every day, and transmission units on the network are routinely added, deleted, and/or reconfigured. On the other hand, the network engineers always need precise information about network configuration to accomplish their duty, which includes the setup of new communication channels, diagnosis of existing channels, and troubleshooting. Thus the network configuration database is required to be perfectly consistent with the physical configuration of the network, and it is necessary for the network engineers to frequently refresh the database to keep up-to-date information. However, since the maintenance of this database is a labor-intensive job, there has been a demand for such a facility that aids the network engineers and reduces the cost of labor.
In the conventional process of building a network configuration database described above, the initial design stage is prone to introduce human errors. This is why the conventional process involves verification of records as an essential step. The problem is that this verification step should be performed each time the network configuration is changed. Time and expenses for such verification tasks have been a major concern in the network configuration management.
Further, the verification of database records is not a simple and easy task, but requires expert knowledge about network design and transmission equipment. This is another factor to increase the time and expenses for the network configuration management.